garden variety porn

This last week the mailbox was quite full of glossy mags w/enticing full-color pictures–it’s that time of year that all of the garden catalogs are sent out.

I have mine piled in a basket in the bathroom. Pictures of juicy melons, heirloom variety tomatoes, and bright flowers tempt me each time I sit on the throne….

A few years ago during garden catalog season I got together with some friends to peruse the mags. We were all comparing notes on different seed varities and were pooling our garden funds so we could each get a greater variety of seeds for less $$. My friend Yvette pointed to some of the glossy pages and said:

“You know what this is, it’s porn for gardeners.”

And she is so right. Those pics are airbrushed and doctored and every flaw is removed to be more enticing to those of us sitting through a bleak January, dreaming about being barefoot in the summer, running our hands through the warm soil, letting blackberry juice dribble down our chins and nibbling crisp raw corn straight off of the stalk. And then thinking about the tomatoes–the sun-warmed fruits that you can pick straight off the vine, brush off on your shirt and stuff the whole thing into your mouth…

The lettuce picture sounds lovely. In my dream house (the one I will probably never afford), there is a sun room w/lots of plants (and a potting bench, of course), and framed pics of vintage seed packets, orange crate labels, etc.

Someday maybe it will actually be a reality. Or maybe the dreaming about it is better than the reality anyways, so that’s ok, too :)